Friday, October 23, 2009

Hello Vancouver!

I didn't know what to expect except that I expected to love it. And I do.

I got in after a very very long miserable day (including me getting so motion sick I had to have the taxi driver pull over on the side of the highway...and then getting obnoxiously hit on repeatedly by a TSA agent...and then 8 hours of travel...and then getting hit on by the taxi driver who kept calling me 'pretty lady' in his middle eastern accent) and checked in to the fanciest hotel I've ever stayed in. A place where they don't even give you the option of helping you with your luggage. A place where the morning room service attendant calls you 'madam' without any connotation that you are old or brothel-y. A place where I can look out my window and see the city. The picture above is the view from the hotel on the opposite side of my room. Pretty gorgeous. It's been like this every day and I couldn't be happier. I never tire of telling my fellow colleagues who complain about it how energized this weather makes me!

I have been working every day until at least 5, running to my room, changing clothes and hitting the town. So far, I've been walking 2-4 miles a day. It feels nice to just have things to see and I never will run out of streets to plod. The unfortunate thing is how early the sun is setting, and with Vancouver being a large and diverse city, there are definitely places you don't necessarily want to be walking in after dark alone (like the neighborhood I found myself in tonight at 9 pm...ooops). It is because of this perpetual sunset that I don't have many wonderful pictures yet. Tomorrow I am walking to Granville Island, home of the artsy fartsy folk and will certainly have more images then.

What I know about the city so far is that it is similar to Europe. But with the thousands of residential high rises (all topped with trees which I think is the most amazing thing ever) integrated with the old architecture and moody landscape, it's a hybrid I have not yet seen. The people walk slow but are very thin. The food/drink selection is limited only by the number of cultures represented in Vancouver...which means they have everything. And not just knock off everything...good everything. Everyone I've met at work has been so nice and wonderful. I think Canada is a good place to be, and I can't wait to see more!